Escalation Hero Conduit
by Leechblade
Summary: In a world where Taylor's past is different, two forces act to improve her future. With the power of the Elemental Heroes at her command, Earth-Bet has a new champion, one who isn't afraid to Escalate! Although having two over-protective father figures at once might make things awkward for suitors. M for characters who aren't afraid to get a bit bloody, it is Worm after all.


**I promised the Elemental Heroes and here they come! In this Fic Taylor won't be getting bug powers, but she's still off to save the world in a whole new way, watch out baddies, Elemental Hero Conduit is on patrol! How does she become such a thing? Well read and find out, same with how she'll be able to defeat the final boss armed with something so different.**

**Alt/Power Taylor, It's an AU as well, though the precise divergences are a surprise, and there's a Reincarnation/insert running around ramming a rusty stop sign up the butt of whatever's left of Canon every so often. Consider yourselves warned.**

**Lastly this is fanfic that means I don't own the characters or the setting, and I'm not getting paid for this. Yugioh belongs to Konami and Worm is the property of Wildbow.**

* * *

_Dimension 827208623- The Fortress, headquarters of the organization known as the Elemental Heroes:_

Neos had fought various threats in his day. He had never fought alone and now the biggest one was staring down a whole other reality, and fighting it was a one way trip even if he won and survived. Neos had no right to ask what he was about to of his comrades, but it be remiss in the extreme of him not to seek as many allies as he could rally.

The members of his patrol squadron had agreed for some reason as well, but without the aid of the others in the Elemental Heroes if he was out of commission somehow, things would get real bad real fast.

Neos walked into The Fortress's conference chamber, explained the situation best as he could and then got on his knees and begged for their help. He was a relative newcomer to the organization and wouldn't be surprised if they called him crazy and laughed him right out of the building.

Then up spoke Avian. "Neos, you're one of us. A comrade, even if your pals from space can help you be any element necessary. So what if it's a one way trip? We've got successors lined up, all we need is a way to get there."

Burstinatrix agreed. "We don't abandon comrades. Our heirs are ready for war, and we are presently at peace."

A chorus of 'Ayes' echoes from most of present heroes. Bubbleman however had a concern. "Conduit would never leave willingly, and without her or someone trained to use her armor, we will be unable to employ our Fusion Forms. Without the likes of Terra Firma and Shining Flare Wingman our ability to face such a foe will be limited in the extreme."

"That's actually the easy part." Neos replied. "You see the method by which I will get us there will link us to someone who is of a suitable persona to replace Conduit as the Fusion Moderator. Someone of rock solid morals and who is likely to seek new solutions instead of relying on brute force." Neos deliberately withheld the girl's name for now. The name 'Taylor Hebert' was somewhat infamous in their world for unrelated reasons.

Bubbleman nodded, his concern alleviated, as it was the only issue he had with the situation. "We inform Conduit of our decision, and leave her chairship of the new Elemental Heroes here. Then we find this … Warrior Light-beast and teach it was happens when you mess with innocent civilians!"

"The new Conduit will not be able to handle the strain of forming Divine Neos immediately. We will need to train her mind, body, and soul to that point of resiliency." Neos replied calmly. "This is somewhat callous of me, but the myriad enemies which are present in her world offer numerous opportunities for her power to grow."

Neos was quite confident in his ultimate form's capacity to vanquish the beast, however much as it pained him to admit it he'd let his own training slip in the time since Yubel was brought to heel by Jaden. He'd be able to employ his triple merge forms, but not maintain them for very long. He was counting on the soon to be Conduit to help him get back into top form before something happened to set off the Light-beast.

It would be necessary to fight the 'Endbringers' before attacking the Light-beast, as the parasite would be too strong for anything short of his ultimate form to face, and even if the Conduit wasn't a factor he'd need to get back to peak condition before using the techniques required to ensure victory against a Light-beast without massive collateral damage.

There was another factor at play, which Neos had also kept from his comrades, one that could tip things in favor of the new Conduit, however if mishandled this factor would, instead of providing the necessary psychological support to keep Taylor Hebert from slipping into the Light of Destruction, only serve to hasten her fall…

* * *

**Unknown time, the void between dimensions:**

A man who had been murdered by Neo-Nazis opened his eyes and found himself in a room with a vampirish looking being. "Hello there. My name's Leechblade and I have a request for you. See I am a dimension guardian, which means that when a dimension veers off course, I take action." the being explained.

"Usually this means whispering in the ear of a local powerhouse, or arranging for two people who'd otherwise never even hear of each other to cross paths." He continued. "Recently however I discovered a dimension that had the potential to be so much brighter than the rest of it's reality cluster, it's off point enough that I will be able to send a champion there."

"Let me guess. You want me to be that champion?" The man sighed. "Damn it, okay what sort of world am I headed for and how am I allowed to gear up for the fight?" He spoke.

"Well you're taking this better than I thought you would, you're not even asking why I picked you for this job. Observe the touch screen behind you." Leechblade chirped.

The man turned around to see his new identity. "Worm huh?" The image on the screen was a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' screen with a number of options, particularly in 'complications' greyed out already. "As for how well I'm taking this, it's best to adapt to the situation, and roll with the punches. Hmm, For powers Inspired Inventor and..." He looked over at the inter-dimensional being "Could I get a power that removes Parahuman powers?"

"If you're willing to limit it to accomplishing that through skin contact, then it'll only cost you one point." Leechblade replied. "Though I should warn you: The world you will arrive in is very different from the Worm you know, not even Taylor's Powers will be the same."

"As long as I can depower someone if I need to." The person whose name is no longer important replied. "Hmm. Looks like every super-villain in Worm will want me dead or working for them, particularly considering I'm reincarnating into."

"Those were decided due to the particular variant reality you'll be going into. I've managed to arrange for extra points to be channeled into preparation time, that is for each point you don't spend, you will awake to your memories and gain your powers four months earlier. Furthermore until Taylor Triggers your activities will go largely unnoticed, however after that I won't be able to hide your presence from the human foes."

"Noted. Hmm, if the Nine are going to be coming after me I'll need a team." The companions page rolled by and he made three quick choices. "The Steel Demons are a must if only for the augmentations and vehicles I can already imagine, the Freaks for some emergency muscle and intimidation where necessary, finally for more delicate or PR sensitive work Highwayman and The Butterfly."

"You've still got some points left, considering the complications your personality will result in." Leechblade pointed out "You've only spent six out of nineteen available points"

"Now Invictus, a somewhat tweaked Blank, and Shattered Limiter. The other things I'd want can fake with a bit of effort and prep time instead of relying on a Random Omnipotent Being to power me up. Besides, giving a freaking Tinker Twelve, three years to get ready? That'll be plenty, if I can keep my head down and avoid conflict until I really am prepared for battle."

Leechblade just nodded "Good luck saving the world." The constructed room began to fade.

The man who would soon become Theo Anders laughed "I'm not out to save the world, Leechblade. I'm out to save the person who will."

The last words he heard before rebirth were a mirthful "And that is why I chose you..."

* * *

A child was born to a man who didn't deserve to call himself a father and life continued largely as it should have. However the world was a mysterious place and as the boy named Theo Anders grew, so did his fear.

Fear of a father whom led a white supremacist group. Fear of losing his stepmother, whom didn't truly buy into the beliefs of the group but had endured it to protect a child that wasn't even biologically hers. Fear of whatever had happened to his father to make the man that way. Fear of becoming the monster that had sired him.

Each night he'd hope for something to give him the strength to fight back, to somehow prove he wouldn't be like Max, and each night that cry would go unanswered. This kept happening until one night when he was twelve. Memoriam Surge occurred. The awakening of Memories from a life long past, capable of destroying a person, but also capable of saving them. In this case it was just what he had asked for.

Memories of a life in which he'd lived ordinarily and to the fullest. Memories of a mission given after his original death. A power that rivaled the Triumvirate and allies who'd have his back no matter what so long as he'd do the same for them.

Seven companions, each failed by society. Though they had been called such things as Rogue, Monster, and Villain, Theo knew each to be a hero. A collection of individuals, presently scattered, whom if gathered under a single banner could become a force that could shake things up in Brockton Bay.

All they needed was a place where they could belong. And Theo knew he could build something that would be just the thing. His friends would have a place to rest their weary feet, and Taylor Hebert, the girl destined to become the greatest hero Earth-Bet had ever known, would have a team she could count on come hell or high water.

That however, would come later, as would whatever his loyalty to a girl he had not even met yet would become was in the future. For now he needed resources and the means to conceal them from Max Anders, also known as 'Kaiser'. Fortunately a company already existed to fulfill such a slight need.

It was a rather and easy process to set up an Email account of which Max had no knowledge and from there get into contact with Dragon via the ParaHuman Online boards.

_From: Riposte_

_To: TinMother (Moderator)_

_Re: Business_

_Dragon, I am a Tinker who is able to mass produce his creations, or arrange for others to do so. I am prepared to provide three schematics to Dragon's Lair R&D Exclusively and Permanently on the conditions that I receive 30% of the profits from each paid into a 'Cape Account' which I will be trusting _YOU _to establish under the Cape Name 'Riposte' and a one time 'get out of jail free' card when I start operating._

Within hours a reply arrived.

_From TinMother (Moderator)_

_To: Riposte_

_Re: Business_

_20% of the profits. You'll get your account, and I'll refrain from slapping you with an Unverified Cape tag for the moment. As for the leniency issue, that'll depend largely on what happens and who else is handy when it happens. I'm fond of selective enforcement but I know a few people who wouldn't be as polite._

Theo responded immediately.

_From: Riposte_

_To: TinMother (Moderator)_

_Re: Business_

_No one gets more badly hurt than a bandage will fix, no capes publicly unmasked, and minimal property damage. It won't happen for quite some time either. It is something very specific however. Beyond that I'm not at liberty to discuss when it will happen or what it is, never know when some sort of racist supervillain is listening to your every word. these days after all. The only reason I'm warning you is because as things stand there is no way to achieve the required result safely without committing a crime._

Theo logged out shortly thereafter and began to meditate. He had discovered that he needed to consciously activate his 'Tinker State' and that by meditating for a period of five minutes he could come up with crafty designs in a particular field. Twenty-five minutes being the maximum he could focus on one field, and he could do that twice a day before his 'Tinker State' wore off.

He had already used this to develop a number of fighting styles, in addition to using smaller 'doses' of his power to devise the handheld medical scanner, portable water purifier, and power nullification cuffs he'd sent the blueprints of to Dragon.

His powers were incredible, but that gave him all the more reason to hide them from his father. The weapons he could design were awe-inspiring, and if such things fell into the hands of the Empire Eighty-Eight, or the Asian Bad Boys? The results would be absolutely unacceptable. Theo knew he wasn't a hero, but he'd die before he worked for or became a villain…

Time passed and during the summer before his first year of High School, Theo was able to covertly construct an underwater base for his operations as a Rogue Cape. He had to go through what's commonly known as the 'Tinker Cycle' that is to say, he needed to build the tools that would let him build what he needed and he'd needed to do quite a bit of it.

First he needed to build a costume so he could use the money in his Cape Account to get the supplies delivered to a discreet location. Then he needed to build something that could turn raw material into waterproof construction supplies. Then he needed to build a truly impressive number of drones that could operate underwater so he could have the base built without alerting Kayden, his stepmother and legal guardian, to long absences.

The base which he'd designated 'Avalon Castle' was a little on the large side, housing for up to fifty people, a mess hall for the same, highly adaptable Tinker Workshop, vehicle hangar, and a few interrogation rooms. There were other projects he was drawing up blueprints for, but most of them would need to wait until he secured more funding. Increasing his revenue stream was a necessity.

The only question was how to go about accomplishing that. On the one hand he could sell more blueprints to Dragon, that would provide a virtually guaranteed stream within a few weeks. On the other he could help turn Brockton Bay around if he set up his own corporation. Thoughts of the man who was rapidly becoming known as Dock Master swirled in his mind, and soon his decision was made.

Theo pulled out the Cape Phone he had built for himself and rapidly plugged in the number of the Brockton Bay Dock Workers Association Head office. With any luck Daniel Hebert would be in his office, and ready to accept a somewhat shady request.

"_Dockworker's Association, Head of Affairs, Daniel Hebert Speaking. Who's on the other end?"_ Came the voice of the man Riposte had been hoping to contact.

"I go by Riposte on the street." He answered. "I'm a Tinker and according to Dragon, my designs are mass producible without modification."

"_Good for you. Why are you calling me?"_ Ahh there's that Danny the bull temper that the man was so terrified of. The man's voice was wracked with grief and Riposte had picked a rather inopportune time to call.

"Simple, I'm looking to set up in Brockton Bay. Your outfit has trained security forces, strong backs and are perpetually strapped for cash. Not to mention their boss is a hardass straight arrow, so there wouldn't be any noticeable workforce issues when you help me get set up." Riposte answered.

"_It would appear as though you have us dialed in. Assuming I were willing to go through with this, how would we be 'helping you set up' and what would the pay look like?"_ Daniel Hebert was a good man. He cared for his workers and it seemed from the news articles that they cared for him right on back.

"Getting the machinery to the correct building, I can handle easily enough. Thing is once it's at the correct address, getting it into the building and setting it all up properly is a whole other problem. There's not much a Tinker without a brute rating can do for that and I don't have any flying drones like Dragon does." He had swimming drones but most of those would need to be broken down for parts to act as moving trucks.

What followed thereafter was an intense bout of quibbling over prices that left Theo thinking he'd been cheated somehow. "Very well. I'll have a contract on your desk in about a week. Two weeks after that it'll be time for the job to start, at which time I will contact you with the new address of Prevailing Solutions."

Theo hung up. He would have had to at that point because even if he hadn't noticed the fact that there was an intruder, her disturbingly Dolores Umbridge-like 'Hem-Hem" would have rather rapidly alerted him to her presence.

It was a fortunate thing that the young Rogue had gone to the bathroom before the phone call commenced, for when he turned around a very recognizable woman in a business suit and a fedora stood before him. "Contessa of Cauldron I presume?" he asked already knowing the answer. "The fact that I am not already dead indicates that you have some use for me. However I should alert you that if have harmed my family it won't go well for you."

"The Path to Victory has already warned me of that. It also warned me that Kayden will not be home for an hour. That will give us more than enough time for the discussion we need to have." She replied. It was getting very hard not to be distracted by her looks. Theo had always preferred dangerous women for some reason.

"Very well." Theo said doing his damnedest to bring his adolescent hormones to heel. "Should I make some tea?"...

* * *

**Cliff to the hanger!**

**So yeah, Golem is Riposte here instead and in the first Chapter he's already got the attention of Cauldron. That cannot go well. Or Can it? Either way ogling Contessa is definitely not a very smart thing to do.**

**I think that the next chapter will focus on the somewhat different Taylor that exists in this story next but my muse is a fickle Bi-Atch and I'm not sure how many people are going to crucify me in the reviews about this.**

**So it is time for my darling readers to weigh in. Should I focus on the unusual background Taylor is packing in this AU or should I show how Theo's teatime with Contessa (AKA Thinker: don't even bother with a number) goes first?**

**Flames will be ignored and/or deleted with extreme prejudice.**


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